The Massacre of Zhanaozen Brought to the European Parliament

   On the 16th of December 2013, the European Parliament will be holding a public hearing, followed by a press conference, to bring the reality of Kazakhstan and the massacre that occurred exactly 2 years ago, to the European representatives. In addition to the organizer Paul Murphey, a member of the Socialist Party, 2 oil workers from Aktau and a former employee from the OSCE Center in Astana will participate.

   The event will try to throw some light on the reality of the massacre, refuting all the lies presented within the official version of the government. For the very first time, the members of the Parliament and the European public opinion will receive a firsthand account of the tragedy that terminated the 7 month strike of Uzhen Munay Gas’ workers, and the torture practices which witness underwent during the trial.

   The aim of this hearing is to warn about the brutality of the Kazakh regime leaded by Nazarbaev, given the fact that Europe is one of the main oil importers from Kazakhstan. The systematic methods of torture, media repression, and human right s’ violations will also be exposed in order to discourage international trade with the government of Kakakhstan and preserve the moral values for which EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012.

   A former OSCE employee travels to Zhanaozen to find out the true

   From the 12th to the 17th of October, Pedro Luis Rubio, employed at the OSCE Center in Astana, visited the city of Zhanaozen in order to make further research on the massacre and the reasons that lead to it. His investigation included interviews with relatives of the victims, injured civilians, and a visit to the morgue, the cemetery and the buildings that were burned down that day.

   The aim of the visit was to provide the international public opinion, with a clearer understanding of the massacre that the regime had orchestrated pursuing the end of the oil workers’ strike. He admitted to be terribly powerless when listening to families of the victims, relating how their sons’ only fault was to attend the concerts ran by the town council, where they would then be murdered.

   All the families agreed that the tragedy was long planned by the government. To support their argument, militias had been brought from other regions some days in advance, some unidentified men in black clothes set fire to the akimat and the offices of Uzhen Munay Gaz, and snipers were presumably shooting from the hotel once standing between the 2 buildings. Moreover, locals were offered high sums of money for setting up their yurtas on the main square, in an attempt to disperse the protesters.

   The documents and testimonies gathered will bring unknown truth to decision-makers at the European Parliament, where the information will be released. It will also help to reinforce the importance of the OSCE mission in Astana and its commitment towards democratic values.

http://socialismkz.info/?p=10279

Received from Natalia Kuzmenko